Breaking / Healing
Drawing upon her Greek ancestry, creative director and designer Dimitra Petsa framed this season’s collection around the mythological Greek goddess Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld. Inserting herself at the forefront of the show by taking centre stage upon a rock on the runway, Dimitra leads her audience through her collection and Persephone’s spiritual journey as she reads from a poem exploring the female body and nature. It is Persephone’s infamous experience as daughter to wife, from earth to underworld, and the changing of the female form, that would characterise the clothing to come.
“DI PETSA’s collection and performers become visual symbols of the total eclipse of the old by the new”
Opening with an earthy colour palette consisting of bronze, browns, deep purples and reds, the collection recreates the goddess’ childhood on Earth. And yet, it is not before long that the show descends into darkness, a poignant shift now presented via a colour palette of silver and black, foretelling Persephone’s fall into the underworld. Using video art to further convey this transition, a sun slowly morphs into a moon as DI PETSA’s collection and performers become visual symbols of the total eclipse of the old by the new, carefully foreshadowing the coming of a full circle and a state of rebirth..
Tied to this theme of breaking, healing and rebirth, and crucial to DI PETSA’s collection and the becoming of a woman, is the practical application and use of the concept of pregnancy. DI PETSA expands our traditional notion of pregnancy, exhibiting it as a far more fluid and abstract concept than the physical act itself. Included amongst the models were those that were undergoing pregnancy, whilst for many of those that were not, the designer, instead, presented them wearing corseted constructions of pregnancy. For DI PETSA, pregnancy, a uniquely female experience and thus the epitome of womanhood, is a metaphor for change, a vehicle to connote self-development and rebirth. The artificially constructed baby bellies were left hollow, representing the birth of the self.
Conveying such a story through clothing is an art only DI PETSA can achieve. To mimic the uneven and varying nature of the earth’s surface, the designer utilised cut-out designs and ruched materials, whilst the brand’s iconic drapery and Wetlook technique created a movement and texture to the clothing that grew to represent the natural elements of water and air. However, it is DI PETSA’s ability to extend the importance of nature beyond the anecdote itself that is so commendable. With the key to the creations being the custom-designed vegan leather manufactured from mushrooms and food waste, DI PETSA crafted her collection from the ground itself.
DI PETSA’s AW23 collection is a celebration of womanhood. Through the mythological female archetype Persephone and the evolution of time and seasons, DI PETSA encourages women to embrace their natural changes, to overcome their challenges and to feel empowered in their new-born self. Once again, DI PETSA’s performative power has produced a stunningly beautiful collection.
Find out more about Di Petsa here: https://dipetsa.com
Words: Tatiana Summers @tatsummers
Photographer:
Jason Lloyd-Evans @jasonlloydevans
With thanks to Todd, Ethan and the team at https://www.agencyeleven.co.uk